Thai star hotel chain plans second Bengal property

Kolkata: Thailand-based Minor Hotels is planning a second property in Bengal, founder and group chairperson William Heinecke said on Monday, days after the company signed for a luxury hotel at the World Trade Centre in Salt Lake's Sector V.The Sector V property — an Anantara-branded 170-key hotel with two restaurants and a ballroom, being developed by a consortium of Merlin Group and Aryan Realty in association with the World Trade Centres Association — will be Minor Hotels' first in an Indian metro. The group already operates in Jaipur and has signed for properties in Visakhapatnam and Coorg."We shall look for a second hotel in Bengal. It will be announced by the end of the year, but I can't disclose the location," Heinecke told TOI. He added that Minor Hotels plans 50 properties across India over the next decade, pursuing an asset-light strategy.Six more Indian hotel announcements are expected by year-end. The group has 12 brands globally; in India it has so far deployed Anantara and Avani, with the NH brand earmarked for tier-II and tier-III cities.The expansion comes as Bengal has emerged as a significant tourism draw. According to the India Tourism Data Compendium 2025, the state has overtaken Goa, Kerala, Gujarat and Rajasthan in international tourist arrivals — drawing more visitors than Goa and Rajasthan combined.Bengal recorded 31 lakh inbound international tourists, led by arrivals from the US (80,647), Russia (79,758), UK (77,792) and Italy (64,225).Merlin Group chairman Sushil Mohta said the World Trade Centre project involves five million square feet of development with a Rs 2,400 crore investment and is expected to generate around 30,000 jobs.